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THE NEXT Winston Cup RACENEWS, STATS and INFO

THE RACE: Brickyard 400

Winston Cup Race #20 of 34 for the 2000 season

Updated: often, leading up to the race

Race: Saturday, August 5, 2000 in Speedway, IN

Time Zone: Indianapolis is in the Eastern Time Zone but DOES NOT turn back the clocks in the spring, so the times are one hour behind the Eastern Daylight Timezone. Confused? See this page: time zone information for indiana, not looking to expand on this
all times on this page are Eastern Time zone, an hour ahead

RACE BONUS INFO

The NASCAR Winston Cup Leader Bonus is $190,000 at Indianpolis for leading the points and winning the race.(Dale Jarrett last won the award, $10,000 at Daytona) The $340,000 annual award is paid at $10,000 per race to the point leader at the end of each event if he is also the winner. The award increases by $10,000 each week the it goes unclaimed. If the point leader is not the race winner at the end of the year, the balance of the award is distributed among the top-10 finisher in the point standings(7-23-2000)

Leader Bonus: The Winston Cup leader bonus began in 1996 and has never been higher than it will be at at Indianapolis. The bonus goes to a driver who wins a race and is the points leader at the end of that race. It begins at $10,000 and rolls over each week it isn't won. Dale Jarrett won it by winning the Daytona 500 to start the season, but it hasn't been won since and stands at $190,000. That breaks the record set back in 1996. Jeff Gordon won an additional $160,000 when he won at Talladega in July of that year. The $190,000 is also more than 28 of the 34 winner's payouts from last year's NASCAR Winston Cup season. Just three drivers will have a shot at the $190,000 bonus in the Brickyard 400. #18-Bobby Labonte enters the race with a 53-point lead over #88-Dale Jarrett in the NASCAR Winston Cup point standings. Third-place #3-Dale Earnhardt trails Labonte by 107 points(7-23-2000)

More Indy Stats: None of the six Brickyard races have been won by the pole starter. Lowest Start of Brickyard Winner: 24th, 1996 by Dale Jarrett. Four of the Six Brickyard Races Have Been Won from the Top 10. Most Common Starting Position of all Brickyard Race Winners - 3rd in 1994 and 1998(both Jeff Gordon). Best Average Finish(3 or more races): Jeff Gordon, 8.6. Most DNFs in a race: 1998 - 12 cars. Fewest DNFs in a race: 1999 - 4 cars. Driver with most DNFs: Dave Marcis and Chad Little - 3 times. The track qualifying record has been broken every year since the race started(TNN Motorsports Site)(8-2-2000)

Points Stuff: The current difference in Winston Cup drivers points from positions first and second is 53. Since the inception of the current point system in 1975, there have been seven instances where the points battle was closer - 1996, 1992, 1990, 1988, 1984, 1977 and 1976. The current difference in the points from positions first through 10th is 357. Since the inception of the current point system in 1975, there has only been one case where the points battle was closer - 1989 (343 points). Bobby Labonte currently holds the NASCAR Winston Cup Series point lead. If he were to continue at his current pace of 148.7 points per race (approx. sixth-place finishes), the following is what the top five drivers will need to do to overtake him: Dale Jarrett needs to
avg. 153 ppr. (approx. 5th-place finishes), Dale Earnhardt needs to avg. 156 ppr. (approx. 4th-place finishes), Jeff Burton needs to avg. 162.1 ppr. (approx. 3rd-place finishes) and Rusty Wallace needs to avg. 166.6 ppr. (approx. 2nd-place finishes)(NASCAR PR/Fact Sheet)(8-1-2000)

Indy Stuff: Ricky Rudd is the only driver that has won this race as a team owner/driver. Jeff Gordon leads all drivers with the most pole positions - he has three. Dale Jarrett has come from the farthest starting spot to win, 24th in 1996. Bobby Labonte has finished third or better at Indy since 1997. Ken Schrader is the only driver that has completed all 960 laps run at IMS for the Brickyard 400. Rusty Wallace became the sixth repeat race winner of the 2000 Cup season. Wallace, along with Dale Earnhardt, Jr.,
Jeremy Mayfield, Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton all have two victories. Tony Stewart leads the group with three wins(NASCAR PR/Fact Sheet)(8-1-2000)

Provisionals: Three drivers/teams used their last provisional at Pocono until Darlington(9/3): #66-Waltrip, #27-Bliss and #90-Stricklin. There are now five drivers out of provisionals, the three mentioned here and the #44 Hot Wheels and #60 Power Team teams, all must make the races with speed until another provisional is allotted at Darlington, or four more races to go. But the drivers/teams without provisionals could still get into a race using a provisional - If one or a few of the teams without provisionals fail to get in on speed, then the part time teams(don't attempt all races and are deep in the OWNERS points) get a shot at the provisionals, lining up by Owners Points(only if they have owners points). If spots are still available, then the teams without provisionals or owners points get placed in the field by fastest qualifying speed until all 43 spots are filled. For more info on provisionals see my Provisionals Status and Owners Points page(7-22-2000)

QUALIFYING, PRACTICE and RESULTS news and links

Some Brickyard Tidbits: #01-Ted Musgrave had to start at the rear of the field after missing the mandatory driver's meeting two hours before the race's start. It wasn't much of a penalty since Musgrave was scheduled to start 41st in the 43-car field. #11-Brett Bodine 's car didn't make it to the starting grid because it was 90 minutes late for the pre-race technical inspection. He made it onto the track before the race started(Roanoke Times)(8-6-2000)

Brickyard 400 Winner: #18 Bobby Labonte, his first win at Indy after two 2nd place finishes in the last three races there. Labonte broke the old race record of 155.206mph set by Dale Earnhardt in 1995, running an average of 155.918mph. Labonte's win was also a first for Pontiac at Indy. Labonte collected an additional $190,000 for being the Winston Cup points leader after winning a race. #32-Scott Pruett got his first career top 10 in Winston Cup, #66-Darrell Waltrip ran in the top twenty most of the day and had his best finish of the year with an 11th place effort. #90-Hut Stricklin brought Junie Donlavey's Ford to it's best finish of the year with a 14th and Todd Bodine brought the #5 Kelloggs Chevy home 15th, as he subbed for Terry Labonte. To see the unofficial results go to NOL or Racin' Network(8-5-2000)

Happy Hour practice is over at Indy for the Brickyard 400. #25-Jerry Nadeau was the fastest with a lap of 173.410mph. Rusty Wallace ran five laps in the backup #12 Ford, which Kyle Petty will drive, no word if Petty got a chance to drive the car. Wallace ran a lap of 170.084mph in the #12 which was 37th fastest. See the speeds at NOL or Racin' Network. Happy Hour will be televised on ESPN tonight at 7:30pm/et(8-4-2000)

2nd Round Qualifying is over at Indy for the Brickyard 400. Wow! #11-Brett Bodine went out and not only raced into the starting grid, but he broke the track record of 181.072mph, just barely besting #28-Ricky Rudd's record of 181.068mph. #60-Geoffrey Bodine had moved up to 26th with a speed of 179.037mph until Brett ran his lap. None of the other nine drivers were able to crack the top 36. The speeds #13-Gordon 175.984. Steve Grissom tried get the #44 Hot Wheels car in but only ran 174.700 and Kyle will miss the race, why was Grissom in the car? Because Kyle Petty is qualifying the #45 Sprint BGN car at IRP and put Grissom in the #44. Other speeds: #95-David Keith 178.080, #52-Baird 172.022, #61-Bickle 177.651, #9-Compton 177.099, #71-Marcis 176.665. #01-Musgrave who stood on his time fell back into provisional land when Brett Bodine ran his track record breaking lap. Six drivers missed the race: #44-Petty(34th in owners points but out of provisional), #13-Gordon(43rd), #71-Marcis(45th), #52-Baird(54th), #95-Keith(no points), #61-Bickle(no points). #97-Little takes his 10th provisional of the season to make the race, #9-Compton used his 6th and final provisional until Darlinton, so now there are six teams out of provisionals until Darlington (#'s 9,27,44,60,66 and 90). For more info, see the Provisional Page. See the starting grid at NOL(8-4-2000)

Friday AM Practice at Indy for the Brickyard 400 is over. #60-Geoffrey Bodine was the fastest at 179.905mph. Bodine was one of only three driver that were faster then the 36th fastest speed of 178.292mph run by #95-David Keith in 1st Round qualifying. The others were #13-Gordon and #90-Stricklin. See the speeds at NOL or That's Racin'(8-4-2000)

PM Brickyard 400 Practice: #36-Ken Schrader was the fastest at 178.281mph. Everyone else was below 176mph. Only 36 of the 49 cars made runs in practice. See the speeds at NOL or Racin' Network(8-4-2000)

1st Round Qualifying is over at Indy for the Brickyard 400. #28-Ricky Rudd wins the pole with a speed of 181.068mph, just knocking #66-DW off the pole, who will start on the outside pole/2nd. The pole is Rudd's 2nd of the 2000 season. Fourteen drivers broke the track record of 179.612mph ran by Jeff Gordon in 1999, those drivers who broke the track record: #'s 94,18,7,66,10, 28,8,88,12,32, 6,2,31,3. If things stayed the same, the following drivers would miss the race: #44-Petty(34th in owners points but out of provisionals), #60-Bodine(36th but out), #13-Gordon(43rd), #71-Marcis(45th), #52-Baird(54th) and #61-Bickle(no owners points). For more info see my Provisional Status Page. #95-David Keith is 36th, the last spot before provisionals are used. Keith is driving the Sadler Brothers Ford. See the results at NOL or Racin' Network(8-3-2000)

Some 1st Round Qualifying Notes: #28-Ricky Rudd, scheduled to go out third, changed an engine after practice and went out 25th. #90-Stricklin brushed the turn four wall but still ran a decent lap. #71-Marcis got loose in turn two and almost lost it but held on. #77-Robert Pressley is running a red paint scheme. No internet sponsor on the #50 of Ricky Craven as was rumored a few weeks ago. Johnny Benson has his new sponsor colors on the #10 Pontiac, Aaron Rents. #11-Brett Bodine was due out to qualify 4th but hit the wall in practice and the crew fixed the car in time for Bodine to get his run in 49th. #60-Geoffrey Bodine spun on his warm up lap in turn four and damaged the right side of the car and didn't make a run. #24-Jeff Gordon has the Peanut's 50th anniversary/DuPont scheme(8-3-2000)

Thurs Practice at Indy is over for the Brickyard 400. #3-Earnhardt was the fastest at 182.186mph. 21 of the 49 drivers were over the track record of 179.612mph. Slowest drivers were #52-Bill Baird at 174.648 and #95-David Keith at 174.760mph. See the speeds at NOL, That's Racin' or Racin' Network(8-3-2000)

Qualifying Order is up at NOL for the Brickyard 400. Links are above. 49 drivers listed, first scheduled to go out is #17-Matt Kenseth, last scheduled out is #60-Geoffrey Bodine. Qualifying goes off at 2:30pm/et and will be televised on ESPN2. Last report was that during practice, #3-Dale Earnhardt was the fastest so far at 182.186mph, followed by #88-Dale Jarrett at 181.561mph with #4-Bobby Hamilton third at 180.872(Brickyard 400 Site)(8-3-2000)

Brickyard 400 Entry List is up at NOL. Link above. 51 drivers/teams are listed including: #50-Ricky Craven, #52-Bill Baird, #61-Rich Bickle, #80-Morgan Shepherd, #85-Carl Long and #95-David Keith in the Sadler Bros Ford. No driver is yet listed in Junie Donlavey's #90 Ford but Hut Stricklin has been named to drive the car. The #80 and #85 teams have withdrawn and have been removed from the NOL list, now with 49 cars listed, also of note and mentioned by some readers, NOL has the #50 car listed as the Midwest Transit Ford, it is a Chevy(7-26/8-1-2000)

How to break a tie during qualifying? When drivers are tied for a starting spot during qualifying, it is broken by owners points standings(not drivers). For provisionals standings see the Jayski Provisional Status page(2-20-2000)

Links: Practice speeds, qualifying and results can be found at these
sites: NASCAR Online,

TRACK/RACE NEWS

Safety Rules: NASCAR officials announced through a technical bulletin to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series teams that their primary and secondary throttle shafts must each have an independent travel stop to impede the throttle plates from opening beyond vertical. NASCAR officials also announced the addition of an auxiliary ignition on/off button. This button, that will disconnect power to the ignition system, must be mounted on the steering wheel within reach of the driver's thumb. This auxiliary switch must shut off the engine immediately when depressed. These modifications will go into effect beginning with this weekend's Brickyard 400(NASCAR Online and NASCAR PR)(8-1-2000)

Rain: The thatlook.com 300 was the fourth race this season to be impeded by rain. Las Vegas was shortened by 119 laps. Michigan fell six laps short. Pocono was postponed to the next day, Monday. Sunday's race at New Hampshire only went 273 of 300 laps(SpeedVision)(7-10-2000)

Track Qualifying Records fall in 2000: In 19 events there have been eleven(11) track records set, including Bristol, California, Lowes, Michigan, Pocono, Rockingham, Texas, Las Vegas, New Hampshire, Sears Point and Pocono(2nd time). These are TRACK records, not only EVENT records(7-23-2000)

How to Calculate Track Speeds: use the formula Speed = Distance divided by Time. Distance is Track Length, and Lap Time into Hours. Once hour is 3600 seconds, so the calculation for a 48 second lap at Daytona(2.5 miles) would be: Speed = 2.5 x (3600/48), = 2.5 x 75 = 187.500mph. For a 19 second lap at Bristol(.533 miles): Speed = .533 x (3600/19), = .533 x 189.474 = a speed of 100.990mph

DRIVER/TEAM NEWS

Bodine in the #5..for now UPDATE: Terry Labonte, who drives the #5 Kelloggs Chevy, is still feeling the effects of injuries(broken leg/concussion) occurred at Daytona in the Pepsi 400. Todd Bodine ran the car later in the AM practice and qualified the car in first round for the Brickyard 400 at Indy. Labonte has flown back to North Carolina to see his Doctor and get checked out. Labonte's status for the Brickyard 400 is unknown at present. Labonte of course has started 655 consecutive Winston Cup races(ESPN2 Qualifying Coverage)(8-3-2000)UPDATE: all reports I am hearing and seeing now say that Labonte will start the car and turn it over to Bodine at the first caution on Saturday. AND from PitNow: Terry Labonte, still nursing a knee injury from Daytona, turned qualifying over to Todd Bodine yesterday. Labonte will thus have to start the Brickyard 400 at the rear of the field. Labonte was to be in Philadelphia last night for the Republican National Convention(no word on if he made it there)(8-4-2000)

#80 a no go at Indy: the #80 Hoover Motorsports entry will not go to Indy and make an attempt at the Brickyard 400 due to lack of sponsorship. This leaves Morgan Shepherd looking for consulting work at Indy or for a ride in one of the series. Shepherd is also looking to lease or sell his race shop, for info see the Morgan Shepherd site(8-1-2000)

Shepherd and Hoover? looks like Winston Cup Vet, Morgan Shepherd will attempt to make the Brickyard 400 in the #80 Hoover Motorsports car. The team is looking for sponsorship for the race and has ran well in a few ARCA events in 2000(7-25-2000)

Midwest Transit sponsor? UPDATE 4: hearing the #50 Midwest Transit team is close to a deal with a sponsor for the Brickyard 400, Watkins Glen, Michigan and Bristol and if all goes well, possibly 2001(6-30-2000)UPDATE: The Hal Hicks-owned team picks up a sponsor beginning with the race at Indianapolis. The team signed a four-race contract with an Internet company(Times Dispatch)(hopefully NOT Lycos)(7-2-2000)UPDATE 3 Craven to Run NHIS: Ricky Craven and his Hal Hicks-owned Midwest Transit Racing team will compete in Sunday's New England 300 at New Hampshire, Craven's home track. The team, running without a primary sponsor, has only competed in races this season it believes it can qualify for and run well in. The team will skip the July Pocono race and return for the Brickyard 400 in August, where it will begin a four-race run with an Internet company as sponsor. Good performances may lead to a full-season deal for 2001(That's Racin')(7-3-2000)UPDATE 4: hearing the Internet company that will sponsor Craven and the #50 car is WorldBestBuy.com, who has been on the #11 Ford as an associate in the early part of 2000, and has been a sponsor in other auto racing series as well(7-19-2000)

Team Sabco/BellSouth News: Out of respect for Kenny Irwin and his memory, Team SABCO and BellSouth have chosen to permanently change the number of both the NASCAR Winston Cup and Busch Series entries to #01 effective immediately. Irwin was fatally injured in a practice crash at the New Hampshire International Speedway Friday, July 7th, in preparation for the thatlook.com 300. “Kenny was the future of the No. 42 teams,” said Felix Sabates, owner of Team SABCO. “To put someone else in his seat with his number wouldn’t feel right. I spoke with his parents (Reva and Kenny, Sr.) and they were very appreciative and supportive of what we wanted to do.” A new design on the #01 BellSouth Chevrolet, as well as interim driver Ted Musgrave, will debut at Pocono, Pa., Raceway for the Pennsylvania 500. Musgrave, who is testing the Team SABCO/BellSouth entry at Gateway International Raceway today and Tuesday, will be the driver for the next two Winston Cup events. An announcement concerning the driver of the Winston Cup entry for the 2001 season and beyond is expected to take place at the end of the season. Additionally, the team is currently evaluating drivers for the Busch Series entry with a decision coming prior to the Food City 250 at the Bristol Motor Speedway(Team Sabco PR)(7-17-2000)

Bickle to run at Indy UPDATE: The #61 BGN team owned by Steve Coulter plans to make their Winston Cup debut at the Brickyard 400 with Rich Bickle as the driver(Winston Cup Scene Mag)(6-3-2000)UPDATE: hearing that Rich Bickle tested at Indy on Monday and Tuesday of this week driving a brand new #61 Chevy Monte Carlo for the Xpress Motorsports team. Bickle's best lap around the Brickyard was 177mph(6-30-2000)

Baird to Cup: 1999 ARCA Champ Bill Baird is running a part time ARCA schedule and plans to attempt four Winston Cup races in 2000. Both Pocono races and the Brickyard 400 are planned along with an un-named race. The team is looking for a sponsor for it's ARCA and Cup operation(Bill Baird Site)(3-21-2000)

PAINT SCHEME NEWS

Rotozip at the Brickyard: RotoZip Tool Corporation, one of several marketing partners at Galaxy Motorsports, will be the primary sponsor on the #75 Ford driven by Wally Dallenbach in the Aug. 5 Brickyard 400. RotoZip is scheduled to serve as a primary sponsor on owner Darwin Oordt's Fords for seven races this season(Galaxy PR)(7-26-2000)

Gordon and Snoopy? UPDATE 4: hearing #24-Jeff Gordon will run a Snoopy (from the Peanut's comic strip) in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona and/or the Brickyard 400, no official word on what the occasion is. Supposedly the car will be light metallic blue with yellow highlights, Snoopy on the hood and quarterpanels(5-29-2000)UPDATE: I hear these will not be the colors but the car will run at the Brickyard 400(5-30-2000)UPDATE 2: here is more on this scheme - the car will have a dark blue roof, fading into light blue sides with grass decal around the bottom of the #24 Chevy. Snoopy as Joe Cool character painting(DuPont paint?) his doghouse on hood and as the Red Baron fighting character on the quarters. Even have a Woodstock jack marker(instead of the arrow). The car will supposedly be introduced at Sears Point in June and hearing it will be run at the Brickyard 400. The reason? To commemorate the 50th year for Peanuts and as a tribute to them and the Peanuts creator, the late Charles Schulz(5-31-2000)UPDATE 3: Hearing the Peanuts Brickyard scheme will be announced at Sears Point on Friday(6-22-2000)UPDATE 4 announcement and image: Jeff Gordon, DuPont and Hendrick Motorsports have teamed up with United Media to pay tribute to one of America's most beloved cartoonists, Charles Schulz. This paint scheme not only honors the amazing work of Schulz, but also celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Peanuts comic strip. The Peanuts-themed car was unveiled at Sears Point Raceway today and will have a pre-race unveiling to be held trackside on Sunday. The DuPont/Peanuts Monte Carlo will race the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on August 5th. See images of the car on the Jayski's Paint Scheme Gallery(6-23-2000)

STATS and STUFF

Did ya know? If Bobby Labonte wins the 2000 Winston Cup Championship, he and his brother Terry, who won it in 1984 and 1996, will be the first brothers to do so in Winston Cup history. There have been two father-son pairs; Lee and Richard Petty, and Ned and Dale Jarrett(7-6-2000)

Pole Record: What is the record for the most poles in a season by one driver? In the modern era(1972 to present): Cale Yarborough had 14 poles in 31 starts(45%) during the 1980 season. The overall record was Bobby Isaac who had 20 poles in 50 starts(40%) during the 1969 season(Stock Car Racing Encyclopedia). So far in 2000, #2-Rusty Wallace has 7 in 19 races - 36.8%, that equates to 12.5 for the year(7-21-2000)

Manu Lap Leaders: In 5470 laps ran so far in 2000, Ford drivers have led 2470 laps, Chevy drivers have led 1711 laps, and Pontiac drivers have led 1289 laps(7-23-2000)

Top Fives: There have been 26 different Cup drivers(none new at Pocono) score a Top-5 in 2000....1999's total was 28 and 1998's total number was 27(7-23-2000)

Top Tens: There have been 34 different Cup drivers(add Rick Mast at Pocono) score a Top-10 in 2000.....1999's total was 40 and 1998's total number was 41(7-23-2000)

Provisonal Finishes in 2000: In 133 provisonal starts(19 races x 7), drivers have accumulated 0 Wins, 2 Top 5's and 5 Top 10's. See my Provisional Finishes Page for each race finish by the provisionals starters(7-23-2000)

Lap Leader/Bonus Points: 42 drivers have led at least one Winston Cup lap in 2000. No new leaders at Pocono(2nd race). All drivers who have made all the Cup races have now lead a lap in 2000. To see who has led laps and who leads in the bonus points, see my Bonus Points Leaders Page(7-23-2000)

Consecutive Starts: Terry Labonte has 655 consecutive Winston Cup starts, Dale Earnhardt is next with 632, followed by Ricky Rudd with 593 and Rusty Wallace at 502(7-23-2000)

No Top Fives Since.... It has been a while since some drivers have had a top five finish on the Winston Cup circuit. Here are those with the longest streak of races without a top-five finish:

1999 winners who have not won in 2000: Terry Labonte, Joe Nemechek and John Andretti are the drivers who earned victories in 1999 and have not won yet in 2000. Two drivers who won in 1998 Bobby Hamilton and Ricky Rudd, have not won since(7-23-2000)

No Wins Ever.... Some regular drivers in Winston Cup who have never won a Cup race and how many starts they have:

One owner, three winners? That's Racin' brings up a good question. When was the last time a team owner had three different drivers win in the same season? as Jack Roush has now done this year with Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth. The last to do it was Rick Hendrick in 1989 with Darrell Waltrip (six wins), Ken Schrader (one win) and Geoffrey Bodine (one win)(That's Racin') Technically, Mark Martin is listed as the owner of Kenseth's car and Robert Corn is listed as the owner on the Burton car, but all fall under the Roush Racing umbrella(5-31-2000)

Winners: 1999 was the fifth straight year that there have been 11 different winners in a season (1995-99). Every winner in 1999 was from a multi-car team. The last time a single-car team scored a victory was by Ricky Rudd at Martinsville in September 1998(NOL)(11-24-1999)

UPDATE: Jeff Burton was the first driver to win from a provisional starting spot EVER at New Hampshire in 1999 and that is the farthest back any driver has won from since Kyle Petty won from 37th at Dover in June 1995(in 1995 37th was not a provisional starting spot). Bill Elliott also won from 38th spot in the 1988 Pepsi 400. In fact ALL the provisional starters for the race finished in the top 25 at NHIS(7-11-1999) -- UPDATE: Add Bobby Labonte as the 2nd ever provisional winners by winning the 1999 NAPA 500 at Atlanta(11-21-1999)